The 1952–53 Challenge Cup was the 52nd staging of

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...

's oldest knockout competition, the

Challenge Cup The Rugby Football League Challenge Cup, commonly known just as the Challenge Cup is a Single-elimination tournament, knockout rugby league cup competition organised by the Rugby Football League, held annually since 1896, it is the world's old ...

First round

Second round

Quarterfinals

A club record 69,429 people watch the Challenge Cup 3rd Round tie at Odsal between Bradford Northern and Huddersfield. Larger crowds had watched matches at Odsal, but this was the largest involving the home side.

Semifinals

Final

In the final,

Huddersfield Huddersfield is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees in West Yorkshire, England. It is the administrative centre and largest settlement in the Kirklees district. The town is in the foothills of the Pennines. The River Holme's confl ...

beat St. Helens 15-10 at Wembley in front of a crowd of 89,588. This produced a record gate taking for a Challenge Cup final of £31,000. This was

’s sixth Cup final win in seven Final appearances, including one win during the Second World War. coached by William R. 'Bill' Smith, their stand-off half, Peter Ramsden, became the youngest player to win the

Lance Todd Trophy The Lance Todd Trophy is a trophy in rugby league, awarded to man of the match in the annual Challenge Cup Final. Introduced in 1945–46, the trophy was named in memory of Lance Todd, the New Zealand-born player and administrator, who was kill ...

for man-of-the-match at 19. the Huddersfield team also featured Australian

Pat Devery Patrick Charles Devery (9 August 1922 – 17 December 2017) was an Australian professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1940s and 1950s, and coached in the 1950s. An Australian international representative half, he played in Austr ...

and New Zealand's Peter Henderson.

Coverage

The draw for the first round of the cup was broadcast live on television, and was the first time a rugby league cup draw had been televised. The final itself was untelevised, as the Rugby League Council refused permission to broadcast the match due to concerns that this would impact the attendance.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1952-53 Challenge Cup Challenge Cup